The Economy Is Still Terrible for Young People: The era of the overeducated barista is here to stay. College graduates are still spending more and more years (and money) to get worse and worse entry-level jobs.

The article goes on to discuss how college grads, based on the data, are underemployed, either working multiple part-time jobs or finding jobs that don’t require a college degree. Gasp! I would shit a brick if I had loan repayments looming and the only career available was beneath my education level.

I continue to harp on this topic because despite the data, everyone still seems to want to follow the status quo. Send Johnny to college. Most people raise their eyebrows when I say defiantly that I will not pay for my son to go to college. He will have to find and fund his own way–like these kids. Very young adults (driven and ambitious) are making their way to San Francisco and Silicon Valley and working for tech–where youth is a badge of honor. It’s pretty awesome.

Some of these kids are Thiel Fellows, brainiacs awarded a no-strings-attached grant of $100,000 to forego college, hone their craft, and solve real-world problems. Peter Thiel, who established the fellowship, founded PayPal and is one of the most respected investors in the Valley. I think it says a lot that despite doing his undergrad and getting a law degree from Stanford, Thiel believes that our youth’s educational interests are best served outside of the classroom!

Still with me?

When I read about Make School, I almost burst into song. A tech-focused college alternative, Make School is (drum roll please) free! How is that possible? The program takes a cut of your internship and first two years wages after graduating. That means if you don’t get an internship or you end up working at Starbucks, they make nothing. This, people, is the future of education. No false promises from glossy campus brochures. It’s all about fucking results. Can I get an AMEN?!

From the above timeline, you can see that I spent the past 15 years in a metropolitan city. I am a city girl at heart, but it came down to doing what was best for our family, which is to be closer to my parents so that they can care for Franco. It is truly bittersweet as we love San Francisco. Maybe one day, hopefully soon, we will return to live in the city.

We have purchased this Victorian in my hometown of Alameda, an island in the San Francisco Bay.

I was surprised to find out there is a ferry that can shuttle me from the Alameda main terminal to the San Francisco ferry building in 20 minutes. I didn’t know this until after we bought the home. Yay for my commute!

We will be living on the top floor and will be working to add a kitchen to the bottom unit so that we can rent that out. We are opting to keep our property in San Francisco and rent both units. We are officially San Francisco Bay Area real estate developers and landlords. Ha!

Our baby Franco is a year old. I’ve learned a lot this past year, but one of the most important things I learned as a new mom is to ask for help.

Franco was baptized three months after he was born. I was the linchpin to the event, running around with mom/baby gear and Franco’s baptismal outfit, passing out the church readings, thanking the deacon, writing the donation check, meeting the caterer, and setting out the food and drinks. It was a lot to do and there were only 14 family members present.

With 75 adults and kids RSVP’d for Franco’s birthday party, I knew I needed extra help. Queue UrbanSitter, an online resource for booking a range of sitters, from full-time nannies to last minute helpers. Parents can search sitters by date and time, plus schedule and pay online, making it convenient to find the help you need.

Our UrbanSitter Marjorie came for six hours and was a jack-of-all-trades when it came to setup, cleanup, and assisting for the duration of the party. She set out the tables and chairs, put the table covers on, and devised ways to keep them in place with the wind blowing. She was on-hand to greet the pizza delivery man with the cash tip. She organized food and drinks, then stayed after guests had departed to help breakdown and cleanup. The party went smoothly because of all the help we received.

Take a look at the happy birthday boy!

Thank you UrbanSitter for sponsoring this post and making Franco’s 1st birthday the best ever!

Need help? Get help! UrbanSitter is offering a free month of membership when you create an account using the promotional code FORFREETRIAL. UrbanSitter is available in 60 cities, including San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle, Washington DC, and Boston.

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

Pacquiao’s my man. He’s Filipino and religious. Of course I was rooting for the guy in the fight of the century, but he seemed like he lost his spark. The energy just wasn’t there. Mayweather was the better boxer. To me, it didn’t seem to matter that Mayweather was more of a defensive fighter, while Pacquiao was the aggressor. More of Mayweather’s punches connected. The judges saw it. I saw it. So I’m not going to be one of those Pacquiao supporters who makes excuses. It wasn’t meant to be and Mayweather proved his worth, both in the ring and as a savvy businessman and negotiator. Both boxers made a shit-ton of money and are smiling their way to the bank. Cha-ching! Kudos to them.

Funny story. I had lunch with a friend and she said, “You’re only rooting for Pacquiao because he’s Filipino.”

I said, “You’re only rooting for Mayweather because he’s Black.”

She surmised, “If Pacquiao wins, all you little Filipino people are going to think you can beat my ass.”

Haha!

Nevertheless, I’m proud of Pacquiao. It says a lot about someone’s character that more people around the world (and even in the United States) were rooting for a foreigner from the Philippines over an undefeated American boxer.

Birth of the Royal Baby

Who cares?!

Good for Prince William and Kate, living their fairytale lives with a son and now a newborn daughter who are heirs to the throne. Is there any Brit who is pissed that their tax dollars go toward a monarchic lifestyle filled with vacation after vacation, renovation and upkeep of the royal palaces, and the best health care which provides them with a team of doctors and specialists?! It makes me want to puke, just thinking about how you can simply be born into that kind of wealth and be the biggest idiot in the world. Ahem Prince Charles.

THANK GOD I AM AMERICAN!

RIP Dave Goldberg

Heartfelt condolences to the Goldberg family and the tech industry in losing a great leader. Dave Goldberg, the CEO of SurveyMonkey, died suddenly in a freak accident at the age of 47. He was the husband of Sheryl Sandberg, the COO of Facebook. She wrote the bestselling book Lean In which encouraged women to believe in themselves and pursue their ambitions. She credits her husband with championing gender equality and said that one of the most important career decisions women make is who they marry. So true. From what I have read, he sounds like an amazing man. Silicon Valley is grappling with the loss.

Tiger Woods and Lindsay Vonn Breakup

I’m sorry, but why on earth would any woman with a functioning brain want to date a man who cheats on his wife and the mother of his children?! Can someone please explain to me?

Yuck. No respect for these people.

I’m surprised they didn’t last. They’re both so stupid and were meant to be together.

Dean and I encountered a couple the other day that really made me question some people’s common sense. The guy was white, average-looking, really outgoing and friendly. His companion was Asian, tall, average-looking, smiled a lot, and barely spoke English.

Our interactions consisted of this guy translating what people were saying back to his girlfriend by waving his hands animatedly and speaking slowly and loudly. Dean joked, “There were times I thought he was going to get his sketchpad out or that we were going to play a game of charades.”

Why do guys date girls who barely speak English? I remember a friend telling me that he dated a flight attendant that he met on an Asian airline. He said it was hard for him to understand her, but they got around it, and ended up dating for a year. Ummm…excuse me?

I guess another corollary is: Why do smoking hot runway models marry ugly billionaires? It’s all a matter of trade-offs and acceptability. Maybe he’s ugly…but hell, he’s rich and will secure the rich lifestyle I’m used to leading since I can’t make money modeling anymore.

Same with guys who date girls who can’t speak English. Maybe I can’t understand what she’s saying, but I think she’s cute and hence I don’t care about communicating! Conversation is so over-rated!

Does anyone else find this type of attraction strange? A relationship based on looks versus brains? Note: I’m not saying that this Asian girl we met was dumb just because she doesn’t speak English. I am only trying to wrap my head around why so many guys date girls they cannot communicate with. It’s like this perfectly acceptable dating phenomenon (men with mutes) which I simply don’t get.

Dear Vixen,

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Welcome to the Dear Vixen blog, derived from an advice column I wrote while getting my MBA. I'm Catherine Gacad. I live in SF. I give helpful, opinionated advice based on my own experience and from the expertise of my extensive network. Email me with topics and questions or suggestions for guest posts. For more click here.